Nexus Energy (NXS)

Oil and gas explorer
Nexus Energy
has endured a torrid ride since chief executive Richard Cottee resigned on September 22, with the company’s shares down by a third in the past month and a whopping 64 per cent in the year to date. Mr Cottee attracted strong investor interest at Nexus after making his name turning Queensland Gas Co from a $20 million coal seam gas junior to a $5.7 billion player by the time BG bought it in a friendly deal in 2008. The failure to conclude a deal to find a partner for its $1 billion Crux liquids project is thought to have led to a major blowout at board level. An expensive arrangement reached last year with energy major Shell gives Nexus a three-year extension to the date when it hands over the rights to the lucrative liquids in the Crux field. That agreement will collapse unless a final investment decision is made by the end of 2011. If Nexus can snag a potential investor within the next few months its share price may yet recover.